Mr. Valliappa is the founder of The Sona Group. As a well-known industrialist in South India, his interests range from textiles to the construction industry and all the way to information technology.

He has had the privilege of being the President of the Chambers of Commerce for both the Industrial (Greater Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Trade (Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry) chapters. C. Valliappa was quintessential in putting India on the IT map when Texas Instruments decided to partner with the Sona Valliappa Group. C. Valliappa was invited to visit the U.S. as a guest of the White House to understand American business and to identify the future growth of business between India and the US – a rare honour vested on only one businessman each year.